Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-10-01

her continually that she was better, and
contradicted her fatty when she said she
was growing worse and weaker / could
not help that to my excited and nervously
apprehensiye mind he seemed just an ac-
complice of Mr.. Jones-and believe Jones
IN some way made it worth the doctors
while to help him remove his unhappy
wife from the world where she was evil
IDENTIFY not wanted.
Mrs. Jones herself did not breathe to
me word of suspicion, though it seems to
me that Mr.. Jones took special care that l
was not left alone with her for a moment.
Indeed, he was not out of the room at all
excepting once, when he hastily went to
admit the physician and in that minute
or two, she said-quite natural and with
out any appearance OF secrecy don't
think the medicine the doctor prescribes
agrees with me; it seems to make me
worse every time take it. think | will
not swallow any more of IT.
/" Day after day / went TO see her, she
seemed no better, and still repeated that
the medicine she was taking seemed to
make her worse And the doctor has
changed it several times she said, because
l complained of it, and has given mes some
thing else. This which | am taking to-
day is quite different color from that l
had Yesterday; but still it makes me
worse-th ugh he says that is all my fancy,
and that ! am really better. But / am not
better. | cannot even stand alone, now,
my strength has gone so completely. l
tried this morning and fell down in a heap
on the floor. | shall not try again
"What could l do? l had not even the
right of distant relative in the matter. /
could give no reason for the impression
that possessed me-that Mrs. Jones was
being slowly and surely poisoned by her
husband and his employe, the physician
What if | should go to the police with my
apprehensions? People are not arrested
on the impressions of their nervous
neighbors and | really had no proof what
ever to substantiate my suspicious. Be
sides, my husband continually laugh at my
worry. You are prejudiced against Jones,'
he said, and you are ready to accuse him
Of any crime, without the least reason or
proof. Don't get yourself into trouble by
limiting your suspicious to anybody. Her
friends ought to take her part, if anybody;
you have nothing to do about it,
90 But you know she said her friends
had little to do with her since her mar
riage, because she married against their
wishes. And they do not live near her.
and probably do not know of her illness.
OF course, if my feeling about it is correct,
Jones will take precious good care that
they do not get any news of her illness
until it is too late
But my husband would not listen to
any plan for our interference in the mat
ter; and, indeed, really did not know
how to interfere, even had he been willing.
And poor Mrs. Jones grew worse and
worse every day, suffering the most wiring
seemed us though it would rend in pieces
her poor emaciated frame, although, ex-
cepting for the doctors potions, her
stomach must have been entirely empty,
for she ate nothing whatever for days, it
seemed to me.
Finally, one morning when | called
after she had had a terrible night, | saw
that the end of her torture was near. Her
hands were chill and her finger nails blue.
| was sure she could not last the dav out.
She looked at me, and seemed irving TO
speak, but she had not the strength to
articulate Il word. Never shall | forget
the CHASTITY pallor of her face, with those
dreadful purple shadows in all the hollows,
and the beseeching look in her wild eyes,
as she tried to speak to me. | did what |
could to make her comfortable, but as her
husband was hanging over her, unremit-
tingly attentive, of course there was little
to do. Finally, telling him to call me if |
were needed, or if any change occurred.
went back to my own cares, perceiving
plainly that he did not desire me to re-
main, although he certainly said nothing
of the sort. 1t was merely an impression
of mine. But | am certain of it all the
same.
This was about 9 o'clock in the morn
ing. | was not called during the forenoon,
and so supposed she remained the same,
and being busy, and moreover certain that
my presence was not desired in Mrs. Jones
room, | did not go up again.
ga little after noon-it might have been
l o'clock sat in my sitting-room, which
opened out into the hall, with my baby in
my arms, trying to hush him to sleep. He
had been unusually fretful all day, not
seeming very welI-he was teething-and
| was especially anxious to put him to
sleep, as | had some special work on hand
that day. | sat in a low, armless rocker, or
sewing chair, rocking diligently, and sing
ing to my baby-not thinking, for mo-
ment about anything else in the world
excepting hushing him to sleep. To prove
| was in quite cheerful and everyday
frame Of mind, and not in the least vision
airy or morbid ! will admit that ! was
singing Pop Goes the Weasel certainly a
sufficiently earthly and commonplace air,
but Charley liked it, and was doing
off nicely. My eyes were fixed on his face
watching his eyes close as he sank deeper
and deeper under the spell of my song
when | heard the door open-the door
leading out into the hall and stairway.
Even before | fairly raised my eyes (which
of course did at once, as nobody but my
husband opened the door without knock
ing, and ! knew he would not come until
night, thought, Now, that noise will
start Charley up again | looked
up to see who had entered the
room, and, to my utter amaze
ment, there stood Mrs. Jones, in
the doorway, with her hand on the knob
Just in the act of entering. She looked as
she used to look when she was about the
house, and | even noticed that she wore one
of her ordinary hous e-drcsses, which she of
course had not worn during her illness,
but which she was accustomed to wear
when about her work. | was speechless
for moment, for had thought the woman
was dying when saw her three or four
hours before; and had she not told me
more than week before that she could
not stand alone? OF course all this went
through my mind in less time than it takes
to put it into words. As soon as l could
get my breath / said, why, Mrs. Jones,
are you miraculously cured? And aren't
you crazy to come down these draughty
stairs when you are just out of sick bed
You ought, at least, 10 have a shawl on.
How strange that you should get so sud
denly betterr While uttering the last
word | glanced down to see if my baby had
opened its eyes again, but he had not, and
| looked up again to continue my speech
to Mrs. Jones. How on earth could you
= But she was not there. The door
was shut, as before, and no person was in
the room but myself and baby.
81 dropped him in his cradle instantly,
and rushed to the door. No one was on
the stairs or in the hall. All was silent
as death. L sprang up stairs and ran into
Mrs. Jones room. She lay in her bed,
precisely as she had five hours before, ex-
cepting that now she was dead the hand
f,,.l E. i IL.